This week, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee for Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries held an embarrassing sham hearing to “evaluate” the effectiveness of two of the most important wildlife laws in our country’s history – the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act. This hearing was nothing but a show put on to attack and undermine these crucial environmental protections in the service of big business. 

The Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act have protected and saved threatened and endangered species from extinction for more than 50 years. The effectiveness of these laws has been proven time and time again, earning widespread and resounding support from across the country. But Donald Trump and his administration are committed to gutting these landmark environmental protections and leaving critical wildlife to struggle for survival in order to line their own pockets. 

This hearing, which came shortly after Trump and Elon Musk fired scores of federal employees tasked with implementing these conservation laws, showed the Trump administration’s intent to ultimately dismantle the Endangered Species Act. In the coming months and years, there will be real, devastating consequences for endangered species across the country.   

The Endangered Species Act is the most powerful tool our nation has to protect critical wildlife and biodiversity. We will not allow it to be destroyed just so Donald Trump and his buddies can please corporations, developers, and polluters. We need to work together and call on our leaders to RESTORE, STRENGTHEN and EXPAND the Endangered Species Act. Our planet’s most precious wildlife depends on it.